501st Forever - Part 1: Together Again
by Mahou Kitsune
Summary: Re-formed after the Battle of St. Hubert, the 501st prepares to counter the Neuroi presence in Occupied Karlsland.
1. Sneak Attack

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Strike Witches.

Cleaned up the text to make the dialog more clear. Thanks to Symbiotic and Flanker 33 for pointing out the confusing points!

Real upload this time!

The story begins. My thanks to Flanker 33 who suggested a more concise title. As always, my appreciation of everyone who's read, reviewed, followed, and favorited.

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A quiet, persistent droning filled the night air. High in the NeueKarlsland sky, a 'V' of six Messerschmitts, five Bf 109 D-1s and a Bf 110 C-4, flew a quarter kilometer ahead of a Junkers Ju 52 transport plane. Undercarriages painted dark grey, the planes' running lights were off and they flew slowly - almost slow enough to stall - in order to dampen the sound of their progress. They flew in tight formation matching speed exactly in order to mask the number of planes that could be determined by sound. The operation was conducted on a moonless night; by sheer luck there was heavy cloud cover. A moist wind carried with it the threat of rain at any moment. Absolute radio silence was maintained.

Four witches accompanied the flight, two with the lead fighters, two flanking the transport plane. The sound of their strikers was drowned out by the rhythmic thrum of the Messerschmitts' engines. The only hint of their presence was the dampened spring green glow of a magically enhanced radar array near the lead aircraft.

"Still nothing?" the radar witch's long haired wing-mate asked.

Shaking her head, the short-haired radar-witch replied "Nothing."

Pulling a periscope shaped flashlight out of her belt pouch, the long, pale-blonde witch pulsed the light on and off rapidly, relaying the information to the lead fighter, a twin engine, triple-seated night fighter fitted for command duty. The operations specialist in the rear seat pulsed his own flashlight, signaling receipt of report, then turned to relay the information to the planes behind him. The transport plane signaled it had received and understood the relayed information. The fighters waggled their wings nearly imperceptible in understanding. The formation continued ahead.

"Aaaaa," complained the pale-haired witch with nervous irritability as she returned her flashlight to its pouch. "How much longer until we reach the target?"

"Don't get antsy, Eila," counseled the smaller witch. "We'll be there soon."

"The waiting is driving me crazy," complained Flight Lieutenant Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen. Clandestine operations were not her forte. Magical foresight ability making her untargetable, the pale-blonde's preferred battle strategy was to charge into the thick of action and shoot down enemy craft until she ran out of ammunition. The self same ability meant almost every round she fired would find its mark.

"This operation is very important," Flight Lieutenant Sanya V. Litvyak scolded without turning to look at the older witch. "Just be patient. We'll be seeing plenty of action soon enough." She returned her concentration to scanning the night sky for enemy aircraft.

Eila pursed her lips crossly. She knew quite well the magnitude of the mission and how much was riding on its success. In truth, her real concern was for Sanya. She deeply loved the Orussian witch flying next to her, though she was too afraid to ever admit it, and feared what a failed attack would mean for her safety. Frustration unappeased, she flew a petulant barrel-roll around the silver-haired younger witch and resumed her position at the Orussian witch's flank. Sanya scowled at the Soumi witch's stunt, but said nothing.

They continued in formation for a few minutes longer, when the operations specialist strobed his flashlight in a rapid series of pulses of different duration.

"This is it!" exclaimed Eila, fishing her flashlight out of her pouch and responding with three rapid flashes, indicating the specialist's message was received and understood. "The operation is beginning." Sanya nodded without turning her head. Her antennae glowed brighter as she closed her eyes to concentrate on scanning the sky for enemy presence.

Pulsing his flashlight from the rear window panes of the cockpit, the operations specialist relayed instructions to the transport plane. There was a metalic creaking sound as the side door slid open. Immediately after, a small object fell from the side of the plane, then another, then another. At three second intervals twenty such objects fell from the opening in the plane. Ten seconds after the dark shapes left the plane, a dark green parachute snapped open. The commandos had deployed. Its mission complete, the Ju 52 reduced its speed, falling behind the Messerschmitts, eventually turning back in the direction from whence it came while its witch escort continued forward.

The operation specialist's flashlight pulsed another message: _ten seconds to enemy airspace_. Eila nodded in grim determination to herself, flicking the safety off her MG42. Next to her, Sanya did the same with her Fliegerhammer. Behind them, the two Karlsland witch escorts prepared their weapons as well.

According to plan, the Messerschmitts pulled ahead of the witches. As they did, Sanya's magical antennae pulsed green. "Two enemy units launched," she reported. "Estimated time to engagement: thirty seconds." Eila was already relaying the information to the accelerating planes.

The planes broke formation into three rottes, pealing off in different directions to engage the enemy. The mission instructions were clear: the planes needed to engage the enemy in the air for a minimum of ten minutes until the commandos were in position. The witches were to delay entry to the engagement for as long as possible to retain the element of surprise.

Red beams lanced from the incoming Alien craft. The Messerschmitts were already banking away from the incoming fire, unleashing a hail of bullets, some of which scored the surface of the enemy planes. The Neuroi banked hard, one each after a separate rotte. Shaped like squarish sausages with stubby tails and wings, the enemy made exceptionally tight turns.

One unleashed a salvo of beams, bending at a forty-five degree angle several meters from the firing point. The beams cut through the aft wing of a Messerschmitt, severing it while setting it on fire. The damaged plane banked, metallic groan filling the air as the airframe shrieked in protest. Facing the Alien sausage, the pilot opened fire on the enemy craft, pouring the plane's entire ammunition payload into the oncoming black-and-red mottled vessel. The Neuroi began diving as the dying plane's bullets ripped into and through the alien. Barrels glowing red, the plane's guns jammed as the pilot changed course towards the diving enemy. Pulling the ejection loop, the pilot launched his ejection seat, blasting clear from the doomed airplane right before it crashed into the evading Alien, exploding it in a shower of silver dust.

"Two more Neuroi are launching from the target," announced Sanya. Eila grimaced; they still had to maintain radio silence, and the Karlsland planes were too far ahead to see her flashlight.

The remaining Neuroi from the first wave banked hard to avoid a dive-bomb attack from one of the Messerschmitts. It unleashed a handfull of red beams which bent 60 degrees back behind it. The beams ripped across its attacker from propeller to tail. The plain exploded into a ball of oily smoke and shower of metal. Two more Karlsland planes swooped past the Alien attacker, hammering it with their wing mounted cannons, ripping apart its surface and shattering the core.

The remaining planes reformed into rottes, only to bank away from the Alien reinforcements entering the battle zone, unleashing red-glowing beams of destruction.

On the edge of the battle-zone, Eila growled with frustration. The Messerschmitts had held their own admirably so far, but the enemy craft were older Neuroi types that she had first faced in Belgica rushing to the aid of Miyafuji. These types were meant to annihilate enemy ground units and overwhelm opposition through sheer numbers. The Karlsland planes would be no match for Neuroi units dedicated to shooting down witches.

Another Messerschmitt plummeted to earth like a burning comet when Sanya announced, "Two more enemy units are launching... these are bigger and faster than the last four!" In the distance, they could see the solitary wingman breaking hard away from the black and red enemy craft as the other two planes swooped in to rip it apart.

Eila glanced down at her watch - a mere six minutes had passed since the commandos had parachuted from the transport plane... if the Karlsland pilots could hang on for four more minutes...

A glowing red beam lanced up from the ground, piercing one of the Karlsland planes in the belly. The plane exploded into a ball of flame, showering flaming debris on the forest below.

"Crap!" exclaimed the Soumi witch, surprised. "Sanya, Saya! Can you locate the ground units?" she asked, desperately.

"Nuh-uh," replied the Orussian. "I sense they are there, but their locations are obscured by the trees and buildings."

In the distance she could see the two remaining planes bank in opposite directions as two more Neuroi joined the remaining Alien craft. The incoming aircraft were shaped like sharp inverse bowling pins with a vane-supported ring around the center. Red weapons hexes lined the nose and ring.

"Rapid intercepters!" exclaimed Sanya as the enemy craft split off after the evading Karlsland planes. The Messerschmitts banked, rolled, and even tried an Immelmann turn to evade the interceptors, but were hopelessly outclassed. A ground based beam lanced up from a different location, shearing off the wing of one of the planes. The pilot ejected as the plane spiraled out of control and crashed into the forest below.

"_Initiate plan B..._" the Operations Specialist announced over the radio, just before the twin engined plane was incinerated by a red beam. The Neuroi circled around to ensure they had eliminated the invading aircraft.

"Eila, take out the ground units, we'll handle the airborne Neuroi!" ordered Sanya.

Eila hesitated for just a moment; attacking the ground units would mean leaving the Orussian witch alone. Then she saw the look of determination on the short-haired witch's face as she shouldered her Fliegerhammer. "Got it!" she replied enthusiastically.

Behind them, the two Karlsland witches prepared to engage the enemy. "This is it!" shouted the witch dressed in grey, brown hair tied back into pigtails behind her ears. She lifted her two MG42s up in each hand, ready for combat. "For Karlsland!"

Her wing-mate, a short haired blonde dressed in black, raced ahead of her in a barrel roll. "I'm way ahead of you, Trude!" she called back jubilantly.

"Oi! Hartmann!" called Captain Gertrud Barkhorn after the younger witch, "A proper Karlsland soldier stays in formation..."

"Hee hee!" giggled Flight Lieutenant Erica Hartmann, Cheerfully ignoring her friend's admonitions.

"Gah!" spat Barkhorn in disgust as she raced to catch up with the smaller witch.

As she descended towards the Neuroi hidden among the trees Eila saw from the corner of her eye Sanya fire two rockets at an incoming Alien vessel. The rockets slammed into the bulbous nose of the craft, detonating it in a shower of silver flakes.

_Good job, Sanya!_ she thought to herself as she swooped down on the Neuroi ground unit. It was shaped like a box with four spidery legs. Straddled underneath the box-like body was a turret with red hexagon tipped barrel. The Neuroi fired beams from red hexagons located across its body at the incoming witch. She zig-zagged, avoiding the beams, pouring fire into the Alien. The surface of the ground unit ripped apart, allowing her shells to shatter the core buried within.

"Whoah!" she exclaimed as a flurry of beams erupted from the forest, slicing trees and setting brush-fires. The Soumi witch dodged crazily as three more Neuroi tanks scuttled from the trees. She flitted around, avoiding the Alien death beams and trying to get a clear shot at her attackers. _Dammit_! she thought to herself, _I need to put some distance between me and these..._

A deep, loud whooshing sound emanated from the trees, followed by an explosion as the left-most Neuroi detonated into a shower of silver fragments with a chime. The right-most Alien turned to locate the newest attackers. Eila flew in an arc to the side, avoiding the middle Neuroi's beams while pouring rounds into the distracted tank. The tank exploded into a shower of glowing flakes as another anti-tank rocket streaked from the forest, destroying the final Alien attacker. The commandos had arrived.

Turning to decide where to engage next, the Soumi witch saw six more bowling-pin shaped Aliens streak from their resting places into the sky. She decided to chase after the airborne enemies, leaving the Neuroi ground units to the paratroopers. As she gained altitude, she saw from the corner of her eye several explosions as the Karlsander soldiers drew the Nueroi away from the target to engage and destroy.

In the sky above her Hartmann flew in a tight barrel roll, twisting ether around and in front of her, growling "_shturm_!" as she plowed through an attacking craft, buckling it at the middle and causing it to burst into shards.

Behind her, Barkhorn unleashed her twin MG42s at the enemy, roaring in anger, shouting "This is for Marburg! And this is for Frankfurt!" as another Neuroi exploded in mid-air.

Hartmann swooped over to join Barkhorn, shouting "This is for Rüdesheim!" pouring shells into yet another Alien ship.

Barkhorn blinked, puzzled. "Wait, what? Why Rüdesheim?"

"My parents took me there on a trip once. It was a cute little town," Erica explained as the Nueroi's remains cascaded down.

The two Karlsland witches peeled off to chase down another interceptor. Eila paused in her climb to locate Sanya. "Iiiy!" she exclaimed as an interceptor banked, firing a salvo of beams at her. She dodged the incoming fire as an explosion rocked the nose-cone of the hexagon mottled Alien. "Sanya!" she exclaimed in relief as she dove away from another Neuroi salvo. Twisting her body in mid-air to see her pursuer, she saw the spinning red dodecahedron core exposed. Jack-knifing her body she charged her black and red antagonizer, unleashing a barrage of bullets that shattered the core, detonating the attacking aircraft.

Sanya swooped down to Eila. "Are you okay?" she asked with concern. She was too shy to admit to her long-haired wing-mate that she was in love with the boisterous, care-free witch.

"Yeah! Thanks to you," Eila replied, beaming. It was too dark for Eila to ever see, but Sanya blushed at the compliment. "How many rockets do you have left?"

"Five," the Orussian replied simply. "We need to save as many as possible to support the ground forces."

"Hmmm. You hit the nose cone with a rocket, I'll destroy the core?"

Sanya nodded in agreement. "There's one coming at us now, seven o'clock high!" she announced. The two witches raced towards the incoming craft, splitting to flank it as the enemy closed the distance. Sanya launched a rocket at the incoming Alien, blasting a gaping hole in the front. Eila spiraled over the top, hammering it with her MG42. The Nueroi tried to break away from its attackers but was too late; it exploded in a plume of glittering shrapnel.

Above the Northern witches, Barkhorn and Hartmann attacked another Neuroi. "...for Heidelburg!" shouted Trude as the Alien craft exploded. The Karlsland witches veered off to chase additional prey.

Sanya flew over to Eila. "Barkhorn and Hartmann can take care of the remaining aircraft," she said. "Let's provide support to the paratroopers."

"Roger," agreed the pale-blonde witch. The two witches descended towards the ground battle. As they approached the tree line they could hear the chatter of the commandos' MG34s, interspersed with the whoosh and roar of anti-tank rockets and panzerfausts. Ordnance exploded against the four-legged black and red mechanical spiders, sometimes destroying the entire Alien tank, sometimes only damaging it, leaving the enemy unit firing wildly as its damage limb or torso regenerated.

The hovered briefly to decide where to attack. Toward the eastern edge of the target zone they saw a group of four paratroopers pinned down by two advancing Neuroi. The witches arced over the low slung darkened buildings between them and the advancing attackers. Sanya shouldered her Fliegerhammer, unleashing a single rocket that detonate squarely on the alien's abdomen, destroying it in a flash of shining light. Eila concentrated her fire from the south of the remaining alien to avoid catching the commandos in the cross-fire. Her MG42 bullets shredded the black and red menace, exposing then shattering the core within. The paratroopers scattered from their position to engage more enemies as the two witches climbed to find their next target.

Above them, Trude and Erica laced around each other chasing down and destroying the remaining flying sausage. The remaining interceptor dived between them, firing red death. Caught so close to the attacker Barkhorn and Hartmann raised their shield in defence.

Near the tree line, Sanya pointed at another pair of spindly Neuroi spiders. The two witches started over to ambush the Aliens when multiple red beams arced up and over a low building. Eila dodged instinctively, but Sanya was caught in the beams' path; she managed to raise her shield just as the beam would have incinerated her. The beams flowed across and past the sky blue disk, the force of impact pushing her back.

"Sanya!" Eila yelped in alarm. Vacillating a split second, Eila flew over the building's hulking shaped, firing into the Alien tank as it came into range. Her fire ripped through the building and Neuroi; its detonation destroying the side of the structure it was hiding behind. Finger still depressed on the trigger, the Soumi witch's MG42 firing mechanism stuttered impotently, ammunition expended.

From different directions, multiple red beams streaked across the open space between the trees and Sanya, her shield providing the Nuerois with too inviting a target. Eila looked on in horror as her silver-haired beauty was pummeled from all sides, shield flickering in a wild effort to block the incoming beams.

High above them, the Neuroi interceptor executed a tight Immelmann turn, firing beams from its nose and ring. Hartmann and Barkhorn banked sharply to avoid the brunt of the attack, shields deflecting the blazing red death.

Panting, the diminutive blonde asked, "Is this one an advance model or something?" The Alien craft pivoted about its horizontal axis, streaking away from the witches, red beams bending behind it.

"Was zum Teufel?" grunted the pigtailed brunette agrily. "Doesn't it feel inertia?" Red beams continued to slam against their shields. The Alien vessel suddenly flickered, then dissapeared.

"Verdammt!" Erica exclaimed in shock. "Where did it go?"

Barkhorn slowed to a hover. "Can they teleport!?" she asked, frantically scanning the skies for the enemy.

From the corner of her eye, Hartmann saw a pink flash. "Trude!" she yelled, diving below her fellow Karlslander and raising her shield. A concentrated beam hammered her, knocking her backward.

"Hartmann!" Barkhorn exclaimed frantically as Erica fell towards the earth. Stars flashing in front of her eyes, the short-haired blonde became aware that she was spinning as she plummeted to the ground. Reflexively she righted herself, and tried to gain her bearings. From behind, the Neuroi barreled at her.

"Nein!" bellowed the tall brunnette. She dove at the Alien interceptor at maximum speed, unleashing a hail of bullets from her MG42s. The stream of metal converged on the bulbous nose section, shredding apart and through it.

The final enemy aircraft blossomed into a silvery shower; Hartmann groggily raised her shield as the ultra-sharp Neuroi shards blew past. "Huh uh wha...?" she asked, disoriented, as the dark haired Karlslander swooped to her side.

Barkhorn asked frantically "Are you okay? Are you okay!"

Sanya was barely able to keep her shield deflecting the Neuroi beams that assaulted her from all sides. She tried climbing out of the line of fire, but that gave a target to even more attackers. "Eila!" she called out, panic creeping into her voice. _Help me! Please!_ her thoughts echoed.

Hearing Sanya's plea, Eila acted without thinking. Weaving through the Alien death-beams, she caught the petite Orussian witch about the waist and led her out of harm's way, dodging sizzling red streaks. "Right," she cooed huskily in the silver-haired witch's ear. "Up... right... down and left... a little back..."

Eila's calm, reassuring voice caressing her flustered thoughts, Sanya relaxed, felt safe in the taller witch's embrace. Slight blush of pleasure gracing her cheeks, the Orussian raised her Fliegerhammer and fired her remaining rockets at the Neuroi spiders plaguing them from below. Four rockets hit four separate targets, destroying them in a shower of glowing shards.

"Time to go," whispered the Soumi witch; Sanya nodded in agreement.

The pale-haired witch led them up and away from the battlefield, evading Alien beams targeting them. Below, they saw one source of beams targeting them after another erupt in orange flashes, showers silvery shards, and oily smoke as the paratroopers destroyed the Neuroi tanks.

As they reached 500 meters the Alien beams and explosions ceased. The only sound was the thrum of their strikers and burning. Eila sensed the two Karlsland witches gliding up to them.

"_This is Papa Bear to Golden Eagle, the wolves are clear from the forest. Repeat, the wolves are clear from the forest._" the commando leader's voice crackled over the radio.

"Golden Eagle to Papa Bear, copy that. We are waiting for Artemis' report."

Sanya held her hands to the side of her head. Eyes closed and antennae glowing brightly, she scanned the surrounding area for traces of Neuroi presence. "Artemis to Papa Bear and Golden Eagle," she said clearly. "The wolves are gone. Repeat: the wolves are gone."

"_Copy that, Artemis. This is Papa Bear, send in the Woodsmen. Repeat: send in the Woodsmen._"

Hartmann wrapped her arms around Barkhorns neck, squeezed and exclaimed happily "Yay! we did it!"

Hunching from Erica's weight on her shoulders, Barkhorn scolded "Hartmann! This is not how a proper Karlslander soldier behaves while on a mission..." while the short-haired blonde pointedly ignored her.

Eila reluctantly unwrapped her arms from Sanya's waist. "You did great, Sanya!" she complimented the smaller witch akwardly.

Feeling painfully shy, Sanya could only offer a timid "thanks."

Fifty kilometers to the west, a convoy of trucks started their engines and began closing the hour's distance between themselves and the battleground. Bassenheim Airfield had been captured. The 501st Joint Fighter Wing had a new home.


	2. Preparations

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Strike Witches.

Small author's note: the Karlsland cities I mentioned in the previous chapter were all places I've had the good fortune to visit (except for Bassenheim, though I've been near it).

Thanks to everyone who has read, followed, favorited and commented!

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"We are here today to honor our fallen comrades." Lieutenant Colonel Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke stood on a makeshift dais made from empty ammunition boxes covered with a white bedsheet.

Before her stood the assembled personnel who would repair and operate Bassenheim Airbase. To her right stood the present witches of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing - Barkhorn, Hartmann, Juutilainen, Litvyak, and Sakamoto. The others would be joining in the coming days and weeks after they fulfilled their current duties and obligations. In front of her stood the surviving pilots and paratroopers; behind them were the artillerymen, soldiers, and Military Police who would secure and defend the base on the ground. To the left were the carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and administrative and facilities personnel who would repair and maintain the base; and tactical personnel who would coordinate patrols and plan and manage strikes into Neuroi controlled territory. On each side of the dais were coffins draped with Karlsland flags.

"They bravely fought to protect Europe from the Neuroi menace and died fighting to liberate Karlsland from their tyrannical yoke. We will work tirelessly so that their deaths shall not be in vain."

On cue, the commander of the remaining commandos barked orders to his men. They marched to the rear of the formation, then shouldered their ceremonial bolt-action rifles. The assembled troops snapped to attention and saluted.

"Flight Captain Karl Oplesh," Minna announced clearly. She had spent the night before memorizing the names and rank of the fallen, to provide them the last honor and dignity of not reading their names off a card. The Paratroopers fired off a salute.

"Flight Lieutenant Erik Graber," her voice choked. "Excuse me," she apologized quietly before continuing.

Sixteen times Minna called out a name, sixteen times the paratroopers fired a salute with the appropriate number of guns befitting the fallen's rank. In all four pilots, ten commandos, a navigator and the operations specialist had lost their lives in retaking the airfield.

"We, the witches of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, hope to be worthy of your sacrifice." Mio called the witches to order. They shouldered the ceremonial rifles. On command Gertrud, Erica, Eila, and Sanya fired in unison five times. Mio shouldered her rifle to fire the final shot in the salute.

"All duties are suspended until 1300 hours to allow interested personnel to pay their respect to our comrades. Refreshments are available in the hanger," Minna concluded the ceremony. "Dismissed!"

Each to his own, the troops commemorated the life or greived the loss of their comrades in arms. Minna retired to her tent to mourn in private the heartbreaking loss of even more lives in the conflict.

* * *

The first day the army construction engineers and facilities crews took a full assessment of the reconstruction and repair work they needed to complete to get the base in full operating condition. In short order they submitted and Minna approved the work plan, including the materials and supplies that needed to be requisitioned.

First priority was getting the hangars in working order to allow repairs and storage of the witches' strikers. Teams of workers swarmed in and on the building, testing the infrastructure, the electrical systems, ventillation, and plumbing. Teams worked inside and out, clearing debris, replacing supports and beams on the interior, and repairing or patching damage and decay on the exterior walls and roof. Next on the to-do list was getting the base generator in working order, then clearing the well and septic system, and getting the plumbing and sanitation systems back in order. The facilities team modified the plumbing system to take advantage of grey-water recycling to conserve the limited water from the well. Once electricity was available to pump water from the well to the base and waste from the base, the next items on the list were the mess hall and showers, followed by the tactical systems, ensuring radar systems, radio, air-traffic control, and other combat readiness systems were online. Once completed, barracks, training facilities, then administrative buildings and finally luxuries such as common areas, Fusan-style bath, and saunas were repaired, renovated, or constructed.

"I'm not sharing a room with Hartmann!" Once the first of the barracks were completed, the task of apportioning rooms commenced, with the thorny issue of assigning roommates thrust upon Minna. "I am tired of the mountains of trash she accumulates... and the smell! _Mein gott_, how can any person tolerate that!?" Barkhorn was adamant that she would not be sharing a room with her fellow Karlsander.

"What rooming arrangement do you propose?" asked Minna, hoping she could get the stern brunette to see reason.

"I suppose I could share a room with Sanya," the pig-tailed witch suggested. "She's a neat and organized sort..."

Minna winced internally. Trude may mistake Sanya's silence and blank expression as meekness, but Minna could sense the diminutive witch was bracing herself stoically for what she knew would happen. Next to her, Eila quivered with barely suppressed rage, her face turning red as it contorted, futilely trying to hide her emotions. Her fists clenched and unclenched, eyes spat venom, brows glowered, teeth bared, and a menacing growl emanated from somewhere deep and primal, growing ever louder as blinding jealousy tore down her reason, allowing the fox spirit within to take control.

Only Trude could be so obtuse not to notice the foolishness of this proposed rooming arrangement.

"I'm afraid I can't agree to that arrangement," Minna replied in her _be reasonable _voice. From the corner of her eye she saw Sakamoto suppress a guffaw behind her fist as Eila's rage instantaneously deflated, leaving her blinking, a stunned look on her face. She could almost sense a wave of disappointment from the girl's familiar! "Sanya and Eila are night witches; rooming with you would disrupt Sanya's sleep patterns and compromise her effectiveness on patrol."

Trude looked shocked by this response. _But Eila alternated between day and night patrol; this didn't seem to bother the __Orussian!_ "Well, then, I can room with you..." she suggested, desperately. She wasn't at all surprised, however, when Minna vetoed that suggestion as well. "Senior officers will room together. As per military regulations, similar ranks shall bunk with similar ranks."

Barkhorn looked positively desperate. The thought of being smothered by the inexorable tide of Hartmann's detritus filled her with horror. She looked desperately between Minna, Sakamoto, and the night witches for rescue from this fate worse than death.

"We will reconsider room assignments as the 501st reassembles and more rooms become available." Trude's eyes wailed piteously at the decision. Turning to Hartmann, Minna sternly ordered "In the mean time, Erica," the base commander enunciated each syllable in the short blonde's name forcefully, "I hereby order you to keep your quarters organized and free of trash. Penalty for failure to do so will be to scrub the women's... and _men's_... toilets. Am I clear?"

"Ja, ja," the youngest Karlslander replied, unenthusiastically. That was a particularly low blow from Minna. She knew she could count on Miyafuji and the others to keep the witch's latrines clean. Also, there were only eleven witches, plus a handful other female staffers, while there were at least a hundred men comprising the rest of the base; their latrines had to be scrubbed at least four times a day!

Any smugness Barkhorn may have felt by the poetic justice of Minna's proposed punishment was overwhelmed by the sickening feeling that she had gotten the chump side of the deal.

While the base's physical plant was being brought back to usable condition, army engineers re-graded and cleared the runways, filling in blast craters and punctures caused by Neuroi spiders. After the runways were prepared, service roads were brought back to usable condition, and the base perimeter was cleared for both tactical as well as safety purposes.

It took slightly under a month to complete the repairs and bring the base to full operating capacity. Due to limited witch resources during this time, joint Karlsland and Belgica air units performed regular patrols in the area, calling in the witches to intervene when Neuroi were spotted.

The first week saw the heaviest action, as a contingent from St. Trond had to assist the 501st repel two concerted actions by the Neuroi to retake the captured airbase. With the ground anti-aircraft guns and support from St. Trond, both attacks were repelled with minimum loss of life and damage to the airbase. After that, the Neuroi launched attacks on the base and the territories in its operational theater, but these were more harassment than campaigns to recover lost ground.

Minna organized a small commissioning celebration after the Colonel in charge of the engineers led her through the final inspection of works completed. Although Vice Air-Marshall Galland was unable to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony due to security concerns, Minna read the letter she had penned for the occasion to the assembled troops. And so, after three months of planning, training, and preparations, the Bassenheim airbase was fully functional and ready for duty.


	3. Assemble the Witches

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Strike Witches.

I wanted to get this update in over the weekend, but work and taxes interfered. Gomen, ne!

Thanks to everyone who reads, favorites, follows, and comments. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Minna lay naked in bed, covered with sweat, panting. Next to her lay Major Sakamoto, in a similar state, chest heaving raggedly. Their energetic lovemaking had left them limp and exhausted and euphoric.

Their couplings had started shortly after the battle of Saint-Hubert. Air Vice-Marshall Galland had ordered the re-formation of the Strike Witches. The objective of the 501st was the destruction of the Hive over Wiesbaden and the liberation of Karlsland territories under its immediate influence.

Once Central Command selected Bassenheim as the new base for the 501st, Minna and Mio, along with the assigned tactical attachés from central command, began planning the operation to retake the airfield, and restoring it to operation afterward.

Late one evening shortly after their temporary assignment to St. Trond for planning purposes, Minna and Mio were in the Lieutenant Colonel's quarters to plan the training regimen for the witches who would be assigned to the operation. Barkhorn and Hartmann needed additional experience in night combat and flying, while Sanya and Eila needed additional training in formation flying. Minna had no doubt that they could fly in perfect formation with each other, but was not as certain they would be able to fly in formation with the other aircraft that would be involved in the operation.

They were working side-by-side on refining the training and mock battle schedule for the pilots and witches when their eyes locked, mere centimeters from each other. Without a word their lips joined together passionately. Their hungry kissing went on for several minutes before Minna suddenly realized that she had stripped the major to her waist and was exploring the Fusan's body with her hands. It was moments later that she belatedly realized Mio had done the same to her, the ponytailed witch's hands lovingly caressing her own body. With shocked realization they separated momentarily. Their eyes silently communicated their mutual desire and need, and they plunged back into each other's embrace, making love over and over until the morning's rays peeked over the horizon.

Busy preparations schedule conspiring against them, they still managed to find the opportunity to make vigorous love two or three times a week, often with Sakamoto sneaking into Minna's quarters after night combat exercises, or Minna pretending to take her meals in her quarters to read reports, only to slip into the Major's room. After the taking of Bassenheim they had to remain celibate while encamped alongside the airfield in tents. Canvas walls and crowded conditions were not conducive to keeping their rowdy form of lovemaking secret. As the engineers repaired the barracks, Minna had discreetly instructed their commander to make sure the rooms were soundproof. They cheerfully complied with the instructions while grinning broadly.

Regaining her breath, Minna looked over at the Major, devouring her body with her eyes. She felt somehow inadequate compared to Sakamoto. The major's body was a finely sculpted Fusan killing machine. Her skin stretched tautly across iron-hard muscles. There was not a gram of fat on the Fusan witch's lean, athletic frame. Next to her, Minna felt positively torpid. Unlike Mio, the Karlsland witch was voluptuous and softer. She was in prime physical condition - the envy of any woman or man, but she still had baby fat that hadn't yet melted away. She wondered what this paragon of female anatomy saw in her... _No!_ she mentally shook the thought from her mind. _I must not be self-defeating. I need confidence..._

Breathing returning to normal, Mio noticed her Karlsland lover looking at her. She rolled to her side, propping herself up on her elbow. "Mmm? Is something on your mind?" she asked, inflection just enough to make the question sound extremely naughty.

Mentally, Minna girded her courage. Smiling warmly, she said "Mio, will you marry me?"

Sakamoto rolled onto her back. "Huh. That was unexpected," she said, staring at the ceiling rafters.

_Oh Sheisse!_ Minna thought panicking. _She doesn't feel the same way about me! Am I just a physical release for her? How will I work with her now? Every time I see her I'll feel the shame of rejection! Oh, _gott_, what am I going to do?_

"I was thinking how to ask you the same thing," Mio continued, rolling back over to face Minna again. "I never thought to use the direct approach and just ask." She flashed Minna one of her rare lady-killer grins. "Yes. It is my honor to marry you."

Minna's heart exploded with rapturous joy. In her mind a choir of angels sang from on high. She smiled with a joy she hadn't felt since before the death of her beloved Kurt. She reached over and grabbed Mio's face with both her hands, pinned her down and planted a lingering kiss on the Fusan's lips. They made love until they both passed out from exhaustion.

* * *

Shirley Yeager and Francesca Lucchini were the first to arrive at the base. Although their transfer had been facilitated by Galland, it still took a little over a month for them to wind down their duties in Venizia and transfer their equipment and personal effects to Bassenheim.

Lucchini was very vocal in her disapproval of the Airbase. "It's not a castle!" she whined. "There's a castle in Bassenheim! The map says so! Why aren't we in the castle?"

"Did you see a castle on your way in?" asked Barkhorn snappishly. With the arrival of the Liberian and the Romagnian, she still could not secure for herself a room free of Erica's mess. And it had already started. A line of bottles was set against the shared room's wall, and uneven stacks of paper were beginning to be filed on any available horizontal surface.

"No, but..."

"Bassenheim Schloss was destroyed by the Neuroi during the invasion," continued the pig-tailed Karlslander. "And even if it wasn't, it is ten kilometers from here. It would be impractical to live there and fly from here."

"A castle! I want to live in a castle!" Lucchini stomped, preparing to launch into a full scale tantrum.

"But you sleep in trees," pointed out Erica.

"Not when I visit Shirley..." said the Romagnian petulantly.

"Cheer up Lucchini!" encouraged the Liberion. "These will be the same, castle or no," she said, proudly sticking out her ample chest. Lucchini smiled roguishly and laughed, while Getrud frowned disapprovingly and Eila, standing as always next to Sanya, struggled to keep her hands to her side and not check whether Yeager had "matured" any more the past months.

Next to arrive was Lynnette Bishop. The Brittanian had been assigned to the Gallian Airforce to help that nation defend itself. Even a year after Liberation the nation was still rebuilding itself and woefully short of military assets needed to mount an effective defense against Neuroi incursions. The Gallian High Command was loath to release the Master Sergeant from her duties in their country, but they eventually relented when Adolfina herself intervened in the transfer process. Lynnette's arrival was greeted enthusiastically by Lucchini and Eila, who took the opportunity to ambush the gentle brown-haired girl in the bath, ostensibly to check her "maturity" as well. Lucchini declared that Lynne was still in second place after the Liberion, while Eila, suitably impressed, insisted the ponytailed Brittanian had grown _yet again_! As they sat at the far end of the bath, Erica noted slyly to Barkhorn how interesting it was that Eila performed her "measurements" when Sanya wasn't around. Barkhorn, as usual, grumpily disapproved of the Romagnian's and Soumi's antics. Clothes were now piling up around their shared room, and it wasn't clear whether they were clean or dirty.

Perrine Clostermann arrived some time after Lynnette, despite the transfer orders signed by Galland herself. Perrine had been appointed to a sub-ministry level post in the Department of Children's Welfare within the Education Ministry. She was responsible for the department's activities of identifying Gallia's war orphans, arranging suitable housing and caregivers, coordinating the procurement and delivery of essential supplies such as food, water, clothes, and sanitary supplies, and ensuring they had access to suitable schooling - and that they attended. It was an important task that she threw herself into, in addition to flying regular patrols near the Mediterranean Sea where Neuroi occasionally made incursions from Africa.

Lynnette and Perrine had been assigned to the same regiment, but while Lynnette went straight to Bassenheim after being released by Gallia, Perrine remained to ensure systems and procedures were in place at the Ministry Department, and that staff were sufficient competent and committed to the care and education of the orphans. After promoting a deputy to manage the department in her absence - an elder witch who had surprisingly served with Anna Ferrara in the first Neuroi war, and who came highly recommended by her former teacher - Perrine finally felt able to join the 501st in NeueKarlsland.

With Perrine's arrival, the 501st had ten members, and a fighting strength of nine witches. Minna had requested the transfer of both Heidimarie Schnaufer and Hattori Shizuka, but their transfers were denied. Witches with magical antennae abilities being in short supply, Heidemarie was needed at St. Trond, while the Fusan Navy felt Hattori wasn't sufficiently trained to join the 501st in a combat capacity. Sakamoto tried to argue that Yoshika had been even less trained than Shizuka, but the Fusan Navy was unswayed, and noted that Miyafuji's entry into service was highly irregular and downright dangerous.

They would have to wait another three months before Yoshika would join them and the Strike Witches would be complete.


End file.
